How To Get Your Kindle and Soft/Hardcover Versions Linked Together on Amazon

How To Get Your Kindle and Soft/Hardcover Versions Linked Together on Amazon

Amazon Kindle Optimization

Part of optimizing your Amazon page is having it go hand-in-hand with the Kindle version. If you have not already signed up to have your book formatted for Kindle, I would suggest doing so as soon as possible. By the end of 2010, ebook sales were up by $1 billion. Amazon reported Kindle versions of their top 10 bestsellers outsold the print 2 – 1 (as reported to engadget). Some in the industry believe that eBook sales will increase by over $3 billion in 2011.

If you have already done the Kindle conversion (or are planning to), here are some important first steps once it is complete.

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1. 1.      Go to the Kindle listing on Amazon and see if it is linked with your print book (you will see the box below, plus your reviews for your print book will appear for the Kindle).

If they are not linked (and Amazon is not always good about doing this on their own), simply go to the “contact us” screen (sometimes it gets moved but if you go into the “help” link at the upper right of the screen and search for “contact us”, it will bring you to the page). All you need to do is write a query to them, indicating the book title and author, and let them know that the two formats should be connected. It takes about a week.

2.       When the two formats are joined, the tags are not. The good news is that if someone finds your book based on tags, they will be able to get to the Kindle version if the two are linked.

3.       Tag your Kindle version book and have your friends, coworkers, etc vote on the tags, just as with the print version.

4.       Share the update on Facebook, Twitter, chats, groups, etc that your book is available on Kindle.

5.       I would recommend putting out a free press release to announce this. You can do so through www.prlog.org.

Once you have your print and your Kindle versions, you now have double the presence on Amazon.

 There are some important things to keep in mind with Kindle, which add to the value.

1.       There are a little over 770,000 books available on Kindle. That is less competition for your book and the interest in eBooks is increasing quickly (matter of fact, the interest is increasing faster than the population of books in Kindle format, great time to get on board).

2.       International sales are becoming more dependent on electronic versions.

3.       Pairings with other books are easier for Kindle. In normal circumstances, pairings are assisted greatly when your book is purchased at the same time as others on a consistent basis. With Kindle, pairings are entirely based on purchasing history, since eBooks are downloaded one at a time. The likelihood of your book being paired with others is much higher.

4.       Some reports suggest that a person is more likely to purchase an eBook on a whim than a printed book, especially when dealing with online sales.

5.       Combine all of this with the reviews that you have gotten and will continue to get, you have a great opportunity to sell a large number of copies.

6.       Remember, New York Times now has eBook bestseller lists!

Especially important:  As previously mentioned, there are just over 770,000 Kindle books available on Amazon. This makes your rate of exposure increase exponentially and your odds of being picked up into Amazon’s recommendation system higher. Amazon separates Kindle rankings from Amazon rankings. This is HUGELY beneficial to you because in the Kindle department your book is 1 of 770,000 as in the Amazon marketplace your book is 1 of over 5,000,000. I hope you see the opportunity here. The kindle/eBook market is going to grow in the next year like a wildfire so if you can get in and establish a presence in that marketplace now you will be set for the future.